We have a schedule, finally!!!

Well, I went back to work about a month and a half ago now, and things have been BUSY! I am really happy to be back at work, but it is a lot of juggling, even though I am not working as much as I used to. Unfortunately, my job is not the kind of job that allows me to have a set schedule, and it is very intense--sometimes I do not get a drink of water or go to the bathroom the whole time I am there. But the one thing about my job that I now appreciate is that it has taught me to be flexible. I now think I actually might be really bad at a 9 to 5 job because I cannot keep myself on a set schedule anymore since I have gotten so used to adjusting my schedule every time the workflow changed. Flexibility has been an invaluable skill over the past 7 months with a baby, and is even more invaluable now that we have added working back into the mix. There is just so much other stuff to stress over, that it really helps not to add another layer by stressing over whether I am staying on a schedule.

However, schedules and routine are important for babies and kids, so we do at least like to try to keep Hadley on a schedule. We still don't really have Hadley on a rigid schedule, but I am happy to report that we have a "most of the time" schedule now, FINALLY! She has been eating about every 3 hours for several months now, but we never could get the times down because her naps were very unscheduled, and since her eating times depended on her wake-up times and nap-times, it was really hard to figure out a schedule for her. But within about the last 2 months, she has finally settled into a regular sleeping/napping pattern. She is not a 12-hour a night sleeper, but she sleeps for about 10 hours every night. And she goes to bed so easily--we read her a story and rock her for about 3 lullabyes, and then we put her down in her crib and she falls asleep on her own--normally without a single tear! And she is like her momma in that she likes to wake up early, eat breakfast and play a little bit and then go back to bed! So her first nap is at 8am every morning--which actually works out really well for me working because I can take a shower and get ready for work during her first nap.

Daycare is going well so far. There have been little issues here and there, but the daycare we take her to is always very responsive to any concerns that we have. She loves being able to watch and interact with the other kids, and we have worked out our schedules so that she is only there for about 5 or six hours a day, so it's kind of like Mother's Morning Out. We are very vigilant about letting the daycare know when we don't like something though. I think one of the most important things about any childcare situation is communicating with the person that is caring for your child. Every child and every parent are different, and other people don't know your child as well as you do, so you just have to tell them when they do something that does not work for your child. Sometimes I feel like "that mom" when I have to tell them to do something differently, but they never really seem to mind that much, and I've decided that I'm just going to have to get over that. It will probably be like that, even when she starts school--the kids that get the most out of school are the ones that have the parents that are involved and concerned about what they are doing at school. So, for the next 20 years or so, I'm putting on my "that mom" hat and wearing it proudly!

--Amanda